Testing a Hypothesis
by Asguardian
Summary: Steve/Tony, Steve/Clint/Natasha. After Pepper gives her blessings, how can one not test their hypothesis? But after Steve discovers Tony isn't just testing Steve, but everyone else, Steve has to learn to stand up for himself.
1. Chapter 1

Tony was weird. Alright, no that isn't fair. He is brilliant. It is like he has to live in a world where he isn't understood. He plays his life to rules that do not exist to the rest of us.

So when he started teasing me, I assumed it was nothing. When he openly groped me in front of everyone, I glared at him, and dropped it. Then he told Black Widow we were "fonduing" and I told him off, but both just laughed at me.

And then Pepper came to me. We had dinner together, she was friendly, showed me some of the plans for the Avengers tower and was overall very kind. And very pretty.

But as the night wore on, her conversation became more and more Tony-centric. I mean, I knew these two were together, or a "hot item" as every magazine seemed to deem them, but I knew she was more interesting than just Tony's girlfriend.

"Now listen, Steve. I know Tony. Better than anyone. He is an idiot. But he is interested in you. So, I am giving you two my blessing. Have some fun and go ahead and get it out of your system."

I stopped. Or maybe time stopped, I don't know.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" My voice swinging remarkably high.

"He wants to "fondue"with you. He wants to have sex with you."

Time definitely stopped. It was as if the universe was putting all the pieces of the puzzle together; all of Tony's behavior was his love-sick-horny-"I have a crush on you!" mode. Like... Like a teenager. Or an immature adult who had no idea how to express himself. Like an idiot who knew himself so poorly that someone else had to tell other what he was feeling.

I looked at Pepper. I really looked at her. She really was the best of Stark Industry's assets. Did Tony know what he had with this woman? Did he even know how deep and powerful and incredible she was?

"He... wants to have sex... with me?"

"Yes. And he is in his lab tonight, as with every night, and you are welcome to drop by at any time. I am out of town for a month starting, well," she glanced at her watch, "in two hours. Jarvis will recognize your voice and let you in. You are welcome at any time. I have to catch a plane now, so think it over." She kissed me sweetly on the cheek. "Thank you for the wonderful time, Captain. Best of luck."

Time moved then. It moved sideways and awkwardly, but it moved. This feeling was as close to drunk as I had ever experienced.

I made it home. Not sure how I got there, but I did make it home. I laid on my bed, wide awake for the entire night. I don't know when I fell asleep, or what time it was when I woke up, but the sun was past the center of the sky.

I thought about it. I thought about the possibility of Tony and me. Of me and Tony. Of us... of us...

I didn't know. I wasn't a virgin. But I had never slept with a man. And I didn't know what he wanted. Or what I wanted.

That day was a complete waste. I read the Internet, trying to get aquainted with this odd new technology, reading about the war I vanished from, about how homosexuality used to be considered a "disease." I read about Stark Industries, the evolution through time, its changes to clean energy initiatives in so recent years. I read biographies of me online; my life on "Wikipedia." Intimate details of my family, how they died, how they dealt with losing me.

She was not on Wikipedia. Maybe I should be grateful.

Pepper was though. I felt like a "creeper," as one blog put it.

The world felt dizzy and I fell asleep before the sun fully fell from the sky.

It took a few days. Okay, it took two weeks. I did like Tony; I could even see room for attraction. Only one way to find out.

I walked to his home; I could have taken a taxi, but feeling the slow tug of traffic in the city just did not appeal to me.

Jarvis let me in, and with a bit of guidance, found the stairs to his lab. He was working alright, papers everywhere, every screen on, talking, typing. This man worked at only one pace; mach five. I wondered if he ever slept at all.

The door opened at my touch, and it took until I stood in front of him for him to realize I was really there. He glanced at me, and kept up his work. I supposed he was addressing things to me now. Around the room were blueprints; this was Avengers tower he was creating.

And he was not about to stop working on it just because I had come by. But I had questions. My questions needed answers, and as before, I am not willing to wait for technology to figure out what I can on my own.

I stepped right in front of him and kissed him lightly on the lips. All the bright holographic information around us glittered away. He kissed back briefly, and went back to work.

"So, what brought you here? I know Pepper must have said something, because my hints clearly weren't working. And she knows everything, she really does. So you're either curious or confused now, but you aren't sure you're interested. You came here to gauge what the attraction level actually was. You're here to test your hypothesis and yet you say you aren't a scientist."

"I'm a soldier. Thinking isn't supposed to be our strong point."

I pulled him around, I kissed him again. He slid his hands up my shirt, and with my help, took my shirt off. I responded by taking his shirt off; the shine of his arc reactor uninhibited by fabric. I leaned forward and kissed the rim of it ever so slightly. I could feel the slight shake in my body; confusion and curiosity defining my actions tonight.

He reached forward to unbutton my pants, but I pushed his hand away gently, kissing him again. Then I lifted him. His face betrayed his surprise. For a man who was always confident in his control of a situation, his face looked hilarious in confusion. I brought him to the back seat of his beautiful Porsche and laid him across the leather. He was smiling again, though. Already assured of the situation, already happy and calculating, brain zipping away at outcomes, appearing and disappearing like falling stars in a meteor shower.

I let him remove my pants. I let him admire my body in excitement and eagerness. It was almost embarrassing, like the first night I had ever been naked with another person level of awkwardness. His social skills were remarkably horrible; he was embarrassing the hell out of me and he couldn't even stop himself.

So I kept moving. That's what you do after all? Never stop moving. Every soldier knows that. I took off his pants. I admired him in return. A part of me quietly let me know that men were more attractive than I had thought.

Kissing. We kissed a great deal. Completely naked men, laying on each other and all we can do is kiss. Not sure where or when he got lube (probably one of those machines brought it over), but he pushed it into my chest rather forcefully.

"Well? What were the results of your research?"

I looked at the tube, I looked at him. I kissed him.

"I think it requires more testing."

I opened the tube, poured it out onto my hand, strawberry scent overwhelming. He hiked his legs up, giving me access to him. I rubbed it on him, I took a finger and slid it in him. And I did this with directions. He had to direct me. I couldn't think anymore.

"Now put some on your dick as well. Lots. More. How much do you think alot is? More. Perfect. Now. What do you think you should do next?"

Sticky from more than one substance, I slid my dick into him. He was tight, he was warm, he was moist in a way very unlike a woman. Lube made everything smoother, easier, like friction ceased to exist.

"Very good, Captain. Now keep moving."

I moved in and out, the feeling intoxicating, his voice directing speed and intensity. HIs voice mixed with moans of pleasured praise. I reached forward of my own accord to stroke his penis at the same time. I wanted to touch him. I wanted to him to feel overwhelmed in every sense like I did.

I came first, pulling hard on his dick at the same time. He grunted at the change of pace, the sudden pressure on his penis, and with only a few more strokes from me, came as well.

I collapsed on top of him, but was quick to roll off. Into the floor of the Porsche. God, the carpet was very itchy on my bare bottom. I looked at him, eye to eye, the pleasure of sex rolling through both our bodies.

Tony looked up and away. He was already on to other thoughts. For all I knew, he was considering who to taught next, who to pursue, to want, to desire. The thought hurt. The thought hurt and it shouldn't have, because what had I come here for anyway?

He turned back to me.

"Want a drink?"

"I can't get drunk anymore."

Tony was very silent.

"Damn. That sucks. I will see if I can concoct something that will at least give you the sensation of being drunk."

"What we just did kind of reminded me of the feeling. Course, I didn't throw up this time."

Tony stared at me. His eyes narrowed so slightly, I knew he couldn't put his finger on the exact meaning of that statement. Finally, something to make him feel as out of his element as I did, even if it was on such a small scale.

The robot had a martini into his open hand quickly after that. He downed it without even sitting up.

The silence became awkward. Great. Awkward sex. Nothing better.

Tony snapped his fingers and typed things in the air. I sat, stunned and confused and tired; we make love and Tony goes right back to work. It felt like a slap across the face. He really was just a self-righteous asshole.

I started to stand, directing myself to where the various places around the room that had my clothing.

"Steve."

I pulled my boxers and pants up.

"Steve. What did the data you gathered tell you?"

I was by my shirt now, reaching down to grab it.

"Inconclusive?"

I rumpled my shirt into my fist.

"Tony. We make love. And, and you just go right back to work! What the fuck? I mean. What is this, Tony? What is this?" I felt angrier than I knew what to do with. Why was I angry? I had come over to find out what it meant, what Pepper meant, what my curiosity was for, what... what was this?

"Sex? Two men who are attracted to one another, having casual sex?"

I turned to the door. I was leaving, right now.

"Steve! Steve! Wait, hold on now!" He was up, stumbling out of the back of his expensive ridiculous car.

I stopped. Why was I stopping. Why was I talking?

"I can't do it. I can't do casual. I died. To the world, I was dead. But I am not dead, Tony. I was never casual and now it is so much worse, because the things I care about seem two-dimensional and when they tell me they want to remain two-dimensional, it's too much."

"... You want more than casual? Like, dating and shit? Cause Pepper really doesn't even get that and let's be real here, she's probably first on the list of people who deserve that."

I groaned and slammed my hand into his table. Bad idea of course, because super soldier barely knows his own strength. Also, it was a computer. I felt the glass of the screen splintering under my hand.

"Steve. I like you. I care about you. And in my own way, I... lo... lo... care about you a great deal. But I live in a world of flux, and everything moves up and down in my mind all the time. I would like... this... again. If you want this again."

"Just keep testing your hypothesis, Steve. Maybe we'll both find conclusive answers."

I stood there. I stood quietly for a while. Finally I simply sat down on the floor.

"Tell me about your plans for the Avengers tower."

I let him talk. I let him flicker screens off and on for hours,robots quietly replacing and fixing the broken computer beside me.

Time had stopped for me again. The puzzle was all in pieces again; I wondered how long it would take me to put all the pieces in place again, but I pushed it from my mind. The entire night we enjoyed the glow of the computers and ideas, and when I finally could no longer stay awake, I slept on the floor.

Tony was beside me the next morning. I studied the lines on his face and sighed to myself. Always in control, always getting what he wanted. I realized I would play to his rules until either he found conclusive evidence or he realized that I hadn't come here on a hypothesis but a theory.


	2. Chapter 2

I wanted to be angry with him; I really and truly did. I wanted some sense of revenge, or hate, or power, or something to just well up in me and let me beat him to a pulp. I wondered if Bruce ever felt happy at having some green monster to explain away all his rage.

I pushed the feeling of annoyance at everyone away. I was upset because I had wound myself into the horrible situation and now wanted out; without my feelings being crushed any further.

Tony wasn't just interested in me, it turned out. He was interested in everyone. Like a bug collector. I am not sure who told me about his one-night stand with Thor... Or his weekend getaways to warm locales to keep Bruce's heart rate steady and low enough to handle a good ole' roll in the hay... Or his whatever on earth he, Hawkeye, and Black Widow pulled off. In fact, I tried to close down my mind from remembering any of the particular details about any of these situations.

I did remember who told me; Pepper. Pepper the one I couldn't help but hate the most, because he actually did have a smidgen higher regard for her. He had to clear his trysts through her first. Or tell her before. Or after. Or... I gave up on understanding them so long ago. If it weren't for the fact that I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that those two did sleep together, I would have assumed Pepper was asexual. Or a robot.

I wanted to cry. Or to feel something other than this mixture of possessive heartbreak that made me angrier at the people he had slept with than at him.

It was frustrating and even so, here I was, dressed in a nice shirt to chaperone him to dinner. He let us all take him on dates, I had decided, so the press never really cared who he went around with or didn't. It probably came from his years of sleeping around with just normal people and not Avengers. I couldn't stand the bitterness in me. So I smiled; moving on, like a soldier does.

He looked handsome, stepping from his Porsche; his new Porsche, I suppose I might add. He sold the other. He sold it very quickly. As in within days of our first encounter. Certainly not one to be sentimental.

That thought kind of hurt me more than I thought it would. I am the relic here, not the Porsche. Guess I should celebrate that he didn't try to get rid of me after that night as well.

He walked up, slapped my ass, and started talking at the top of his lungs. I just walked beside him into the restaurant. The entirety of the place was reserved for us, so I'd had to wait outside this place for almost an hour since I "couldn't enter without Mr. Stark."

The paparazzi shot a couple pictures of us for one reason or another, the door closed behind us, and a (now) polite waiter showed us to our table.

Tony switched the conversation promptly into his plans for the Avengers tower, just as soon as the woman finished handing us our menus and walked off. Switched wasn't the right word; launched into, full-tilt, hardly breathing between his words. Everything that had me charmed with him, spinning and swirling in his words.

"Construction is starting in two days. Everything is completely perfect, of course it is, I designed it, but I am quite serious. You are going to have a fantastic training room, all of you, aside from our group training room in the basement. You are going to be so blown away when you see what all I have found of awesome stuff I found for you. And you should see the new lab I am building for Bruce. Very open, unobtrusive, lots of room for him to roam about and get restless in..."

And it went on and on and on. Wine came, wine went, food came, food went, dessert came, dessert went and still he kept talking. I was listening. I really was. Like some enchanted school girl who never tired of her lovers big ideas.

The thing was we weren't really lovers were we?

"Natasha's room was tricky. I mean, I have to convince her to want to come by and then go further by making her want to stay. So I worked really hard to..."

"What are we, Tony?"

"... Two Avengers eating dinner together at a very pricey restaurant having a fantastic conversation about my incredible ideas?"

I sighed. I couldn't help it, "No, Tony, what are _we_?"

Tony cocked his head ever so slightly at me, "I am afraid I am not following here, stars and stripes."

"Tony. What is our relationship? What are we? Am I just your fuck buddy, am I your love, am I just your friend, or am I just a passing affair? What am I?"

The pause was probably inevitable. His downing two more drinks before talking was just him preparing his thoughts.

"Do we need to define it?"

"We need to define it."

"We are two men who find one another attractive and occasionally have sex?"

"That's not good enough."

"We are two male super heroes who fuck each other an average of three to four times a week, often in the certified genius' lab."

I hit the table, hard but not to where it broke; it just shook. I truly had myself in these past months. I really knew.

"I love you, Tony."

The wine bottle, still on our table from his previous two drinks was lifted by Tony and chugged away. Stalling. Always stalling. Always looking for the way out.

I had found his way out.

I stood, I pulled the cellphone he had given me long before our flings had started and placed it on the table. I then turned and left.

"Steve."

But he only said it once, and he didn't try to stop me.

I ended up in a hotel. It wasn't like I didn't have a perfectly good apartment, but I didn't want to go there. We'd been there once.

I felt like a child. That thought made me more upset.

The television had all kinds of channels. My apartment's television really only had the news and most days I could hardly bare to watch it. I spent many nights training in the little gym downtown that Nick Fury had introduced me to. It took more practice than I'll care to admit, but I managed to find the balance that let me not break the punching bag every time.

Tony had shown up there once, too. In this moment I began to wonder if I could ever go anywhere after tonight.

I watched television all night. I have no idea what I even watched.

The next day my Avengers bracelet blinked at me. I mustered up the courage to boot it up and scroll through its messages. Just a couple of notations from Tony about the opening of Avengers tower tomorrow. It was a generic message, sent to all of the team. I shut the little screen off. I slept while Judge Judy droned on in the background.

The next day I checked out and took a walk. A walk in the opposite direction of Stark Industries' Avengers tower. I kept walking even as the bracelet pinged to remind me the ceremonies started in a hour. I didn't stop when it pinged louder that ceremonies started in five minutes.

I paused slightly when I passed the Pennsylvania county line, hours and hours after the ceremony would have ended. The message was another mass text from Tony.

"Thanks guys for showing up to the Avengers tower opening tonight. For those unable to tell via text, that was sarcasm."

I smiled. I couldn't help it. Tony was the only one to show up to his birthday party. The next hotel I passed, I checked into and slept better than I had since before I had been a icicle.

The sun seemed happier this morning to me, so I ate breakfast in their lobby, and headed South again. I had always wanted to see the United States and trekking it on foot just sounded fun. I knew with my entirety that if the Avengers really needed me, Nick Fury would find me in one of his helicopters and fly me straight back into danger.

The journey was fantastic. People recognized Steve Rogers, Captain America (!) and gave me free rides, free food, and free places to stay. I visited every state in just under a year. A year of such peace and reconnection. I found my America again. I found the love for the downtrodden that had always driven me so. I stopped petty crimes, I gave speeches, it felt like a modern day version of my original U.S. tour. And for the for the first time since I could remember since wakening to a world that thought me a fossil, I felt peace.

While relaxing in Texas, debating where to go, having set foot in every mainland state, I wondered where I should head next; Alaska kind of reminded me too strongly of another cold island, so I decided on Hawaii. As I was typing in ideas of what I should make sure to see in Hawaii, Natasha walked in to the Internet cafe.

Saying I kind of jumped is an understatement.

"Nice to see you too, Steve."

Things whizzed through my head very quickly, "so how long have you been assigned to follow me?"

"Just the past two months. You slipped out of one Nick's best trackers sight and Nick assigned me. I never miss a mark."

She sat beside me and began to type into the computer. I watched her navigate with startling ease through databases and firewalls. Unsure of what we were supposed to talk about I went ahead and started back into jotting down Hawaii ideas.

After two hours, Natasha turned to me again, "When do you plan to go home? Cause I really don't want to play your babysitter for eternity."

"It hasn't occurred to you I might not need a babysitter?"

"If Nick says you need a babysitter, you need a babysitter. Do I need to get you a pacifier now as well?"

"I was thinking of going to Hawaii next."

"Beautiful island. Lulls people into not being as anxious. Makes my job much easier."

"Awesome," I grumbled, "Want to come with me, then?"

She paused. She tilted her head so slightly. She was genuinely thinking it over.

So I waited for her to think it over. The thought of not being alone for awhile appealed to me in a way that I hadn't realized. I hadn't realized I was lonely.

"Can Clint come?"

"... Is Clint here?"

"Yes."

I looked around. I really looked around.

"Where?"

"On a rooftop about one hundred and twenty yards to the west. He should be able to hear us perfectly through the mic."

I gaped. I gaped quietly. And then just shrugged.

"Yeah. Why don't we all go to Hawaii?"

And so we did.

Nick Fury paid for it. He called it a "team-building" exercise. I was always surprised by the people that underestimated this man's brilliance.

I got a glimpse of a magazine at the airport; Bruce and Tony had just discovered a something and were beaming on the cover of Time. When I noticed the date of print was two months after I had disappeared, I just sighed. Tony was never one to stop just because of a minor set-back.

Natasha handed me a sandwich. We all ate in silence.

Hawaii was astounding. We spent every day on the beach, in museums, everywhere.

I had a very overwhelming moment at Pearl Harbor; it felt too surreal. The place made me feel out of breath in a such a dark way.

Clint placed his hand on my shoulder, as Natasha slid her arm around my back. I fought back against neither; I could feel the slight tremble under my skin.

Our hotel was very close to the beach, so we never hesitated to go whenever we had a free moment. Natasha was breathtaking in a swimsuit. I admired the subtle angles of Clint's body. The stirring I felt inside made me feel guilty; those two were so blind for each other it was rude of me to even think about it.

But my mind still thought about it, whether I said I wanted to or not. My dreams turned to the erotic nightly.

Kissing Natasha, sucking on Clint, their breath on my neck, her body supple beneath me, entering him with a gasp, their voices in my ears. I had to masturbate in the shower the next morning. And the next morning, too.

"How do you go this long without sex?" Natasha asked the first thing over breakfast two days later.

Clint looked up over his bagel, quiet and studying. I felt like a bug under a magnifying glass.

"What do you mean?" My voice was too high and even I knew it.

Clint raised an eyebrow ever so slightly, "She means how do you go with no real release in an entire year after having almost daily relations with someone before?"

My face found my palm for me.

"I, listen, it's not... Look, I..."

"See, it's backlogged his brain too, Clint."

He nodded.

"I don't see you two quizzing Bruce about how he does it."

"He has sex regularly enough. I know Pepper informed you."

I bristled at this, "Yes, Clint. She did. She informed me of all the ways he stays relaxed and all the other occasions Tony fucked an Avenger. Including the two of you."

They glanced at one another.

"We had sex with him to teach him a lesson," Natasha replied.

"He is a very poor student," Clint added.

Again this two brought me to absolute silence.

"What were you trying to teach him?"

"That sex can mean more than sex," Clint responded. Natasha nodded just once.

I looked very slowly at the two assassins next to me. I wondered at all they had been through. The bond between them wasn't love; it was something beyond it. Something I did not understand.

"I am not sure I understand, to be frank with you two."

"We are willing to try and help you better understand."

Kissing. Kissing is how it started. I kissed Clint, Natasha kissed my neck. I kissed Natasha, Clint kissed the skin just above my belly button. Clint kissed Natasha, I shuddered in eagerness.

We kissed for a long time. Just as my mind flitted to another situation that had started in kisses, Natasha slid my pants off and her mouth over my erect and dripping cock. Clint kissed me at the same time and then moved underneath Natasha to pleasure her with his mouth. The way it made her clench me tighter with her lips and gasp slightly almost drove me to finishing.

But it was if she could tell just by my breathing. Clint moved to his knees, and I sat up and took him into my mouth. He gasped quietly; it was so alluring. This man even moved quietly in sex.

I fondled him as he gently ran his hands threw my hair. Natasha tapped me on the butt twice. I am not sure how I knew, but I moved to my knees. She put a warm, wet finger into me. I clenched out of surprise and slight pain. Her hand wrapped around my penis and tugged forward and back slowly. I increased my speed on Clint without actual thought.

He gripped my hair painfully in his pleasure, and then used the moment to pull me back a bit.

"Not yet."

She laid herself down on the bed, propping her hips up just a bit with a pillow. Inviting, welcoming, her beauty struck me immobile. Clint was behind me, touching me lightly, encouraging me.

I pushed my penis into her slowly, her moan audible, her body pliable and warm. I moved once, and felt Clint rim my ass with his fingers. I paused and let him lube me appropriately. Then he pushed into me. I gasped and Natasha shuddered in excitement.

Then we were all moving, in such sync it was as if it had been choreographed. Natasha ran her fingers down my chest, her fingertips reaching behind to let Clint know her presence as well. Clint held my hips firmly, moving so deep inside me. I climaxed first, having been without for far too long, Natasha coming with me, lifting her body from the bed. Clint thrust twice more into me and then groaned ever slightly as he too finished.

We all lay on the bed quietly. Clint reached across me and stroked Natasha's hair. I kissed his arm. Natasha rolled and hugged me up. Clint followed suit.

We slept long past the sun falling an the moon's rise.

I woke up last. There was food beside the bed. I ate it because I really was incredibly hungry. Clint was across the room reading a book when I finally finished; naked. His body made part of me hunger for more than just food.

I watched him for a bit. Then I started feeling melancholy; he was already doing something else and Natasha was nowhere in sight. I began to drift into my cold and bitter thoughts about Tony and how he seemed to move from sex completely unmoved... That's about when Natasha's arms fell about my shoulders. Her hair was wet; she'd showered.

"So, what did you learn?"

I turned slowly, noticing Clint coming to join us sitting on the bed. I felt really naked suddenly.

Our sex had meant something to me. What had it meant to them?

"You two... You don't just invite anyone into your bed. You have all you need between the two of you, physically, emotionally. You invite people into their bed that you think would benefit from seeing that love from the inside. You... are inviting me." It was if the answers were coming from a far off place. "You invited Tony? Because Tony doesn't know love. He cannot fathom even the smallest hint of what you two have, and you invited him anyway?"

"He always thinks he just wants trysts. So he chases and chases, and never finds anything. We tried to help him see the best answer was in front of him. He continued to believe he already knew the answer. You follow and search and are made better for it. A better soldier and a better pupil." Clint finished, rubbing my shoulder slightly.

Natasha rested her head on mine.

"Clint and I discussed it, and while we think you could already pass the final test, we wondered if you'd like to continue coming to study sessions."

I chuckled. Deeply and truly and freely.

"I hope I never graduate."

When we left Hawaii, we all left at different times. I flew back to New York, Natasha to her next mission, and Clint back to Nick Fury and his orders. I walked from the airport to Tony's home.

And found him in his lab.

He removed his welding goggles at me entering the door. He turned and looked at me up and down; analyzing. I stood quietly.

"Remember when you said I should keep testing my hypothesis?"

"I do," he replied, flipping the piece around in his hand and welding a bit of it before adding to it, "did you find more conclusive data?"

"Yeah. I discovered it's scientific law for you to be unable to have an actual relationship. But I would like us to have a working relationship, which is quite different from what we were trying for before."

"What were we trying for before?" He asked, glaring at the piece in a way that I knew he was actually glaring at me.

"You were trying to use me to ignore your own feelings of inadequacy. You should apologize to Pepper, making her your errand boy. But you won't, because you're you. So we are clear though, you and I are nothing but two Avengers now. Friendship will be discussed at a later date.

For now, you are Tony Stark, Ironman, to me and I am Steve Rogers, Captain America, to you. We aren't a hypothesis. We aren't a theory. We are two people who belong to a team that helps protect the earth."

Tony turned to me, the piece hitting the table in a bit more frustration than I knew he intended to show.

"I worried about you, jackass."

"I am surprised you had time."

He flinched. Visibly.

"Pepper chewed me out for two weeks after you vanished. Nick Fury kept saying your location was classified. How you turned off my GPS tracker, I don't know. I wanted to say something, to..."

"Have the last word, Tony."

The volcano so barely hidden inside Tony erupted. "Go home, Star Spangled Banner. Go home to your high and mighty ideals that make you so much better than little ol' pagan me."

"Tony, I am not better than you. You just refuse to learn."

I left, his curses loud even after the glass sound-proof glass slid shut.


End file.
